DOCSLIB.ORG

Trump's Foreign Policy in the Middle East

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Trump's Foreign Policy in the Middle East This is the version of the chapter accepted for publication in Trump’s Media War published by Palgrave McMillan https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94069-4_15 Accepted version downloaded from SOAS Research Online: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/31123/ TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: CONSPIRATORIALISM IN THE ARAB MEDIA SPHERE Al Saud, A. and Mahlouly, D. (2018) ‘Trump’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Conspiratorialism in the Arab Media Sphere’, In: Happer, C, Hoskins, A. and Merrin, W. (Eds.) Trump’s Media War. London: Palgrave McMillan. Paper presentedat the ‘Trump and the Media’ Conference, 14 June 2017, University of Glasgow Introduction The success of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is commonly regarded as the sign of a trend towards populist identity politics, which partly resulted from today’s controversial immigration debates and increasing perception of threat to global security. This phenomenon appears to have primarily manifested itself in recent European elections and referendums, as illustrated by Brexit and the success of the Front National candidate in the first round of the 2017 French presidential campaign. However, there is also reason to believe that Donald Trump’s approach to national identity and political communication impacted on some of the politically–driven ethnic and sectarian conflicts that occur in regions suffering high political instability, such as the Middle East. Therefore, in order to assess the significance of Trump’s 1 populist discourse on the global political culture, it is worth investigating reactions to his foreign policy in the Middle East. Some experts have already underlined the fact that Trump’s controversial statements on Islam are likely to enhance anti–Western sentiment (Winter 2016; McKernan 2017) and that the inconsistency of his foreign policy raises further political uncertainty for the region (Burke 2016; Walt 2017). However, we still have yet to understand how his foreign policy is being framed to accommodate the distinctive media narratives that are competing in the Arab media sphere as well as how it is received in the regional public debate. Does Trump’s foreign policy underpin diverging interpretations of the complex struggles for power that are currently at stake in Iraq and Syria and does this generate conspiratorialism (Hannah and Benaim 2016; Engel 2016)? In order to reflect on these questions, this paper analyses a sample of news reports from Al Ahram, Al Arabiya, and Al Jazeera, covering four specific major events during Trump’s early presidency. By evaluating how the news were originally framed and commented on by the media outlets’ readership, the article attempts to investigate how President Trump’s foreign policy discourse and positions are received and reported in the Arab media, and to what extent, if any, do they exacerbate the current climate of uncertainty engulfing the region and beyond. In theory, as we shall see, conspiracy theories thrive in such environments. The aim is to investigate whether or not the reality validates that theory. Conspiracy theory and political uncertainty in the information age What is a conspiracy theory and how does one operate in today’s global media environment? From the aftermath of the Cold War to the rise of the 2000s’ digital revolution, social scientists have opposed two divergent approaches to the study of conspiracy theories, which differ in whether conspiracy theorists embrace or reject the status quo. The first, as described by Serge Moscovici in his essay “Conspiracy Mentality” (1987), is that of an irrational feeling of resentment expressed by the majority towards a minority. In this case, so–called conspiracists are commonly blamed for the fact that they do not conform to the norm and are therefore regarded by the compliant majority as unfairly privileged. From this perspective, conspiratorialism is to be understood as “the psychology of resentment” (ibid. 162). It manifests itself as a prejudice towards the minority, which is induced by a rather “ethnocentric and dogmatic” (ibid. 154) form of social identity. As a result, resentment often manifests itself as a fear of the other and the foreigner, who potentially represent a threat to social cohesion. This 2 perceived external threat endorses all sorts of phantasmagoric representations meant to emphasize the supposedly inexorable incompatibility between the in–group and the outsider (ibid. 163). The alternative perspective can be found in the work of Parish and Parker (2001) and Dean (2000), who define conspiracy theory as a reaction to the uncertainty of the modern world (Parish and Parker 2001). In their view, conspiracy theory evidences one’s ability to question the apparent truth and seek for a hidden meaning, however subjective or superstitious, of our social reality. Their conception of conspiracy theory is that of a cognitive process that potentially challenges the norm and allows one to think critically about the world. This certainly demonstrates that what may be defined as a conspiracy theory remains intrinsically relative. In spite of this, researchers agree to define conspiratorialism by a common set of characteristics, such as paranoid skepticism, a tendency to displace responsibility for social problems (Showalter 1997), a feeling of insecurity, and a propensity to position oneself as a victim (Moscovici 1987: 163; Parker 2001: 198). The latter tradition however pays particular attention to how conspiratorialism relates to postmodernity and to the climate of anxiety generated by economic globalization and the emerging technoculture (Stewart 1999; Dean 2000). In this regard, Dean introduces a relevant reflection as to how today’s increasing consumption of information might ironically intensify our feeling of uncertainty: [I]nformation does not necessarily correlate with clarity and transparency, not to mention goodness and accountability. (…) Information may obfuscate even more than it clarifies. This is an important insight today, the technocultural “post” to postmodernity. It reminds us that telling the truth has dangers all its own, that a politics of concealment and disclosure may well be inadequate in the information age. (Dean 2000) This inevitably brings us to reflect on the relationship between conspiratorialism and the possible revival of information warfare. As argued by George Marcus (1999), it is a context similar to that of the cold war and characterized by information warfare and political uncertainty that precisely explains today’s propensity to individual skepticism: [T]he cold–war itself was defined throughout by a massive project of paranoid social thought and action that reached into every dimension of mainstream culture, politics, and policy. Furthermore, client states and most regions were shaped by the interventions, subversions, and intimidations pursued in the interest of global 3 conspiratorial politics of the superpowers. The legacies and structural residues of that era make the persistence, and even increasing intensity, of its signature paranoid style now more than plausible, but indeed, an expectable response to certain social facts (ibid. 2). Assuming that today’s conspiratorialism is, indeed, part of the legacies of the cold war, how does it fit within the recent interplay of proxy wars currently at stake in the Levant region? How does it react to superpower foreign policy in the information age, and how does it operate when different media narratives compete on the transnational scale? In order to explore some of these questions, this paper shows how Trump’s positions regarding foreign policy in the Middle East evolved since the 2016 presidential campaign. It examines how this may intensify the current climate of political instability in the Middle East and investigates how Trump’s foreign policies in relation to the global security crisis have been reported by three distinctive Arab media outlets. Finally, by outlining the preliminary results of a thematic analysis conducted on a dataset of online readers’ comments, this paper introduces a reflection as to how Trump’s political communication impacts on the polarization of the political debate in the MENA region. Trump’s foreign policy before and after the election: political uncertainty rising in the Middle East Many of President Donald Trump’s actions following his assumption of power in January 2017 stand at odds with his previous rhetoric on the earlier campaign–trail. The areas of foreign policy in which President Trump has reversed course are plenty, including his policy on NATO, the European Union, China, North Korea, and Russia. However, we will narrow our focus, for the purpose of this paper, to those pertaining to the Middle East region. With regards to the main Middle Eastern issue at the moment, the revolution turned civil war in conflict–ridden Syria, candidate Trump was very critical of any US involvement during the Obama years and wanted to stay out of it (Griffing 2017; Jacobs 2015). However, President Trump proved willing to enforce the red line drawn by his predecessor, President Obama, with his first major military airstrike hitting the Syrian airbase from which the Syrian president’s planes launched the Khan Sheikhun chemical attack, which killed more than 80 people in early April 2017 (BBC News 2017). A couple of months later, on June 19, a Syrian army jet was shot down by a US warplane, which was framed by Russia as “an act of aggression” (Reuters and Haaretz 2017). This has put 4 President Trump on a collision course with Russia,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mystery Money
    MYSTERY MONEY How a loophole could allow foreign money to flow into super PACs through secretive shell companies ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report was written by Research Director Michael Beckel and Research Associate Amisa Ratliff. Design by Communications Associate Sydney Richards. Cover image credit: bioraven/Shutterstock.com ABOUT ISSUE ONE Issue One is the leading crosspartisan political reform group in Washington. We unite Republicans, Democrats, and independents in the movement to increase transparency, strengthen ethics and accountability, and reduce the influence of big money in politics. Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus of more than 200 former members of Congress, governors, and Cabinet officials is the largest bipartisan coalition of its kind ever assembled to advocate for solutions to fix our broken political system. Issue One 1401 K Street NW, Ste. 350 Washington, D.C. 20005 © 2020 Issue One MEDIA CONTACT Michael Beckel [email protected] | 202-888-6770 issueone.org | facebook.com/issueonereform | @issueonereform [ 2 — Mystery Money ] Issue One MYSTERY MONEY BY MICHAEL BECKEL & AMISA RATLIFF INTRODUCTION oney laundering schemes to illegally funnel foreign money into super PACs M through shell companies threaten the integrity of our political system. Since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 paved the way for the super PAC era, there has been a proliferation of corporate super PAC donors — including scores of opaque and obscure companies that allow the people behind them to remain hidden. Such secretive entities provide especially ideal cover for foreigners wishing to evade the existing prohibition on their involvement in U.S. elections. A new Issue One analysis shows why this loophole needs to be closed.
    [Show full text]
  • Will “America First” Leave America Alone? – the Trump Administration’S Trade Policy in the Indo-Pacific Region Author Darah Phillip by Darah Phillip
    Special Article 2 Will “America First” Leave America Alone? – The Trump Administration’s Trade Policy in the Indo-Pacific Region Author Darah Phillip By Darah Phillip President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans- ties with the US. Pacific Partnership (TPP) in one of his first acts in office on Jan. 24, For the US and Japan, the TPP created an opportunity for the two 2017. The withdrawal was an early demonstration of his nationalistic, countries to pursue an economic relationship to match and “America First” trade philosophy. Trump’s initial argument behind complement their longstanding bilateral security alliance. Under the leaving the TPP was that the US, and American workers in particular, guise of tying Japan’s economy with that of the US, the TPP enabled would be worse off in the trading bloc. He also insisted that he was a Japanese negotiators to counter domestic resistance to trade in areas tougher negotiator than former President Barack Obama and that he such as agriculture by leaning on the strategic imperative of using the could negotiate a better deal for Americans. Three and a half years agreement to mitigate Japan’s growing economic dependence on after leaving the TPP, however, the Trump administration has not China. produced a trade framework in the Indo-Pacific region to surpass, let The TPP was also expected to encourage growth in US trade with alone rival, the TPP. Instead, the US may be more isolated from its Vietnam and Malaysia, two countries with high trade barriers and yet economic partners in the region today than it was in 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case of Donald J. Trump†
    THE AGE OF THE WINNING EXECUTIVE: THE CASE OF DONALD J. TRUMP† Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash∗ INTRODUCTION The election of Donald J. Trump, although foretold by Matt Groening’s The Simpsons,1 was a surprise to many.2 But the shock, disbelief, and horror were especially acute for the intelligentsia. They were told, guaranteed really, that there was no way for Trump to win. Yet he prevailed, pulling off what poker aficionados might call a back- door draw in the Electoral College. Since his victory, the reverberations, commotions, and uproars have never ended. Some of these were Trump’s own doing and some were hyped-up controversies. We have endured so many bombshells and pur- ported bombshells that most of us are numb. As one crisis or scandal sputters to a pathetic end, the next has already commenced. There has been too much fear, rage, fire, and fury, rendering it impossible for many to make sense of it all. Some Americans sensibly tuned out, missing the breathless nightly reports of how the latest scandal would doom Trump or why his tormentors would soon get their comeuppance. Nonetheless, our reality TV President is ratings gold for our political talk shows. In his Foreword, Professor Michael Klarman, one of America’s fore- most legal historians, speaks of a degrading democracy.3 Many difficulties plague our nation: racial and class divisions, a spiraling debt, runaway entitlements, forever wars, and, of course, the coronavirus. Like many others, I do not regard our democracy as especially debased.4 Or put an- other way, we have long had less than a thoroughgoing democracy, in part ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– † Responding to Michael J.
    [Show full text]
  • Consequences of US Trade Policy on EU-US Trade Relations and the Global Trading System
    STUDY Requested by the INTA committee Consequences of US trade policy on EU-US trade relations and the global trading system Policy Department for External Relations Directorate General for External Policies of the Union PE 603.882 - November 2018 EN DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EXTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT STUDY Consequences of US trade policy on EU-US trade relations and the global trading system ABSTRACT The Trump Administration’s trade policy is driven by the belief that previous Administrations have let other countries take advantage of the United States for foreign policy reasons, as demonstrated by America’s more open trade regime and its trade deficits. It is determined to end this perceived imbalance by demanding reciprocity instead, and is willing to use tough tactics to achieve this through strict enforcement of its procurement and trade defense law; expansive tax provisions; bringing the WTO dispute settlement to a halt; withdrawing from and forcing others to renegotiate existing bilateral and multilateral agreements; adopting a novel “national security” argument to justify breaking WTO tariff commitments for steel, aluminum and possibly autos; and enacting punitive tariffs on billions of dollars of imports from China, possibly threatening a trade war. The scenarios for U.S.-EU trade relations as well as the global trading system are anything but rosy. The EU can stand up to the Administration’s “bullying,” or it can take advantage of America’s need for a “re- balancing” to build its own stature by taking simple steps to improve EU-U.S. trade, forging a way forward in the WTO, and providing necessary leadership to address the dangers China’s economic system poses to the global trading order.
    [Show full text]
  • Trump, American Hegemony and the Future of the Liberal International Order
    Trump, American hegemony and the future of the liberal international order DOUG STOKES* The postwar liberal international order (LIO) has been a largely US creation. Washington’s consensus, geopolitically bound to the western ‘core’ during the Cold War, went global with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the advent of systemic unipolarity. Many criticisms can be levelled at US leadership of the LIO, not least in respect of its claim to moral superiority, albeit based on laudable norms such as human rights and democracy. For often cynical reasons the US backed authoritarian regimes throughout the Cold War, pursued disastrous forms of regime change after its end, and has been deeply hostile to alternative (and often non-western) civilizational orders that reject its dogmas. Its successes, however, are manifold. Its ‘empire by invitation’ has helped secure a durable European peace, soften east Asian security dilemmas, and underwrite the strategic preconditions for complex and pacifying forms of global interdependence. Despite tactical differences between global political elites, a postwar commit- ment to maintain the LIO, even in the context of deep structural shifts in interna- tional relations, has remained resolute—until today. The British vote to leave the EU (arguably as much a creation of the United States as of its European members), has weakened one of the most important institutions of the broader US-led LIO. More destabilizing to the foundations of the LIO has been the election of President Trump. His administration has actively
    [Show full text]
  • Donald Trump's “America First” Policy Rarely Does a New U.S. Administration Come Into Office with a Full-Fledged Coherent
    U.S. Foreign Policy Portland State University, Winter 2020 David Kinsella Donald Trump’s “America First” Policy Rarely does a new U.S. administration come into office with a full-fledged coherent approach to foreign policy recognizable to a theorist of foreign policy or international relations. Rather, on the campaign trail, they proffer a series of foreign policy positions, whether consistent with or at odds with current U.S. policy and, once in office, take actions in response to world events and opportunities—again, sometimes consistent with previous policy and sometimes taking the nation in new directions. The Trump campaign, and now the Trump administration, has been no different than others in this regard. However, as with previous administrations, analysts like us search for a coherent set of principles that help makes sense of an administration’s foreign policy, more often than not attaching “doctrine” to a particular president that captures some essential features of their foreign policies. Thus, in the course, we have described the Truman doctrine, the Nixon doctrine, the Reagan doctrine, and the Bush doctrine. Of course, administrations’ foreign-policy ideologies often go by other labels—“containment” and “détente” are two that you now know well. After eighteen months in office, the most common label we see attached to President Trump’s foreign policy is America First. It is still a bit early in his tenure to elucidate a consistent set of principles that bring coherence to the administration’s foreign policy actions or help to predict future actions should he be elected to a second term.
    [Show full text]
  • Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 01/06/2020 9:48:46 AM
    Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 01/06/2020 9:48:46 AM The invisible man: Text messages reveal former golfer's role in Ukraine scandal By Vicky Ward, CNN December 23,2019 New York (CNN) - When Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman traveled to Ukraine last winter to help Rudy Giuliani dig up dirt on President Donald Trump's political opponents, they were accompanied by a 44 year-old American named David Correia. A former pro golfer and restaurateur, Correia had gotten to know Parnas and Fruman in South Florida, where he'd gone into business with Parnas years earlier. While Parnas and Fruman, who had high-level contacts in Ukraine, worked to gather documents that they believed showed evidence of corruption by Joe Biden and his son Hunter, Correia was there to make the effort pay off in lucrative business deals, according to people who talked to him at the time, as well as copies of text messages obtained by CNN. Before the trip, Correia texted an American associate that he wanted to "be fully prepared to close specific deals in Ukraine while we are there," according to the message viewed by CNN. Though he had no experience in the gas or energy business prior to working with Parnas, Correia was bent on securing a deal to sell US liquified natural gas to Ukraine through a pipeline in Poland. When the three men were indicted in October for illegally funneling foreign money into Republican political circles, attention quickly focused on Parnas and Fruman, who have become key characters in the ongoing impeachment saga of President Donald Trump.
    [Show full text]
  • Trump's America First Policy in Global and Historical Perspectives: Implications for US-East Asian Trade
    Received By NSD/FARA Registration Unit 02/15/2019 11:54:04 AM Trump's America First Policy in Global and Historical Perspectives: Implications for US-East Asian Trade June Park and Troy Stangarone Since the end of World War II, the United States has played a leading role in shaping the global economic system. While US influence has waned with the reconstruction of Europe and the rise of China, it has remained the leading power in the international system. The election of Donald Trump, however, represents a significant shift in US trade policy. In its first days the Trump administration withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and has since taken specific steps to renegotiate trade agreements and protect US industries. Po­ liticizing the importance to reduce bilateral US trade deficits and to bring manufacturing jobs back home, the Trump ad­ ministration has also utilized trade remedies in addition to the seldom-used safeguards to advance its "America First" economic agenda. Although trade remedy actions—the im­ position of antidumping and countervailing duty based on the US Trade Act of 1974—have been critical instruments for US trade, prioritizing trade deficit reduction in US trade pol­ icy has the potential to erode the underlying international system and exacerbate rather than resolve the tensions that have spurred nationalistic economic movements. Against this backdrop, in this article we explore the implications of an abrogation of US global economic leadership for the international trading system and US influence more broad­ ly. We also consider the implications for East Asia and the global economy as a whole as China, the European Union, and Japan take on larger leadership roles within the global trading system.
    [Show full text]
  • The Trump Administration's Foreign Policy – Impacts of Changes in The
    Strategic Annual Report 2019 The Trump Administration’s Foreign Policy – Impacts of Changes in the United States The Trump Administration’s Foreign Policy – Impacts of Changes in the United States President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Oct� 2019, Minneapolis� (Photo AP/AFLO) Since its inauguration in January 2017, fundamentally change America’s role in the Trump administration’s America the international arena, what domestic First policy, which seems unhesitant changes have brought the Trump about confronting other parts of the administration to power in the United world while paying little attention to the States, and how these changes have been free and open international order it had and will be manifested in the Trump been leading, has had significant impacts administration’s foreign policy� on the international community� The policies of the United States, Japan’s Firstly, the foreign and security policies sole ally, have played a central role in of the Trump administration that are building and maintaining the free and of such vital importance to Japan were open international order in the Indo- devised at the initiative of Secretary of Pacific region, which has a direct impact State Pompeo, former National Security on the security environment and stable Advisor Bolton, and former Secretary economic development of Japan� It is of Defense Mattis, with the National hence critical to understand whether Security Strategy (NSS2017) released or not the Trump administration will in December 2017 formulated with 11 significant
    [Show full text]
  • Trumpism?: a Discourse Analysis of Trump’S Four Major Campaign Speeches Rachel D
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Seton Hall University Libraries Political Analysis Volume 19 Volume XIX (2018) Article 2 2018 What are the three characteristics of Trumpism?: A Discourse Analysis of Trump’s Four Major Campaign Speeches Rachel D. Beeman Seton Hall University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.shu.edu/pa Part of the American Politics Commons Recommended Citation Beeman, Rachel D. (2018) "What are the three characteristics of Trumpism?: A Discourse Analysis of Trump’s Four Major Campaign Speeches," Political Analysis: Vol. 19 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholarship.shu.edu/pa/vol19/iss1/2 POLITICAL ANALYSIS · VOLUME XIX · 2018 What are the three characteristics of Trumpism?: A Discourse Analysis of Trump’s Four Major Campaign Speeches Rachel D. Beeman Rachel's goal in this paper is to advance a moderate voice on a controversial presidency. She uses text analysis techniques and a program outside her comfort zone called ATLAS.ti, with the help of her faculty mentor Dr. Roseanne Mirabella, to analyze four campaign speeches by President Trump. She hopes future research will take advantage of text analysis to explore how rhetorical patterns and cues might provide insight into the characteristics of leaders and elected officials. oday we are not merely transferring This paper will use an empirical and pragmatic power from one Administration to study of speeches given during the campaign to “Tanother, or from one party to another – illustrate the overarching ideological themes— but we are transferring power from Washington, populism, business-like approach to politics, and D.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Per Curiam Opinion 2 HAWAI‘I V
    FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT STATE OF HAWAI‘I; ISMAIL ELSHIKH, No. 17-15589 Plaintiffs-Appellees, D.C. No. v. 1:17-cv-00050- DKW-KSC DONALD J. TRUMP, in his official capacity as President of the United States; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF OPINION HOMELAND SECURITY; JOHN F. KELLY, in his official capacity as Secretary of Homeland Security; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE; REX W. TILLERSON, in his official capacity as Secretary of State; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendants-Appellants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i Derrick Kahala Watson, District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted May 15, 2017 Seattle, Washington Filed June 12, 2017 Before: Michael Daly Hawkins, Ronald M. Gould, and Richard A. Paez, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam Opinion 2 HAWAI‘I V. TRUMP COUNSEL Jeffrey Bryan Wall (argued), Acting Solicitor General; Edwin S. Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General; Sharon Swingle, Anne Murphy, Lowell V. Sturgill Jr., H. Thomas Byron III, and Douglas N. Letter, Attorneys, Appellate Staff; August E. Flentje, Special Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General; Elliot Enoki, Acting United States Attorney; Chad A. Readler, Acting Assistant Attorney General; Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; for Defendants-Appellants. Neal Kumar Katyal (argued), Colleen Roh Sinzdak, Mitchell P. Reich, and Elizabeth Hagerty, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Washington, D.C.; Thomas P. Schmidt, Hogan Lovells US LLP, New York, New York; Sara Solow and Alexander B. Bowerman, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Philadelphia, PA; Douglas S. Chin, Attorney General; Clyde J. Wadsworth, Solicitor General; Deirdre Marie-Iha, Donna H.
    [Show full text]
  • Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus
    REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2016 HHHHHHH HHHHHH We dedicate this platform with admiration and gratitude H H H H H To all who stand strong in the face of danger So that the American people may be protected against it — The men and women of our military, of our law enforcement, and the first responders of every community in our land — And to their families. Paid for by the Committee on Arrangements for the 2016 Republican National Convention Not Authorized By Any Candidate Or Candidate’s Committee www.gopconvention2016.com • REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2016 • Preamble With this platform, we the Republican Party reaffirm the principles that unite us in a common purpose. We believe in American exceptionalism. American people are optimistic. We believe the United States of America is This platform lays out — in clear language — the unlike any other nation on earth. path to making America great and united again. We believe America is exceptional because of For the past 8 years America has been led in the our historic role — first as refuge, then as defender, wrong direction. and now as exemplar of liberty for the world to see. Our economy has become unnecessarily weak We affirm — as did the Declaration of with stagnant wages. People living paycheck to Independence: that all are created equal, endowed paycheck are struggling, sacrificing, and suffering. by their Creator with inalienable rights of life, liberty, Americans have earned and deserve a strong and the pursuit of happiness. and healthy economy. We believe in the Constitution as our founding Our standing in world affairs has declined document.
    [Show full text]